Bumper guard for snowmobiles

ABSTRACT

A protective bumper mounted over the rearward end of the skis of a snowmobile to prevent the trailing end of the skis from hitting the bottom of the snowmobile body.

United States Patent Dodgson [54] BUMPER GUARD FOR SNOWMOBILES [72]Inventor: Leonard S. Dodgson, 220 First Avenue North, Jamestown, N. Dak.58401 [22] Filed: May 8, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 35,791

us. c1. ..180/5 R, 280/26 ..B62m 27/02 Field of Search ..280/26, 25, 15,104.5 A;

1451 Mar. 28, 1972 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,499,2996/1924 Hatosy .et a1 ..280/25 Primary Examiner-Benjamin Hersh AssistantExaminer-Robert R. Song AttorneyRobert L. Harrington [57] ABSTRACT Aprotective bumper mounted over the rearward end of the skis of asnowmobile to prevent the trailing end of the skis from hitting thebottom of the snowmobile body.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures BUMPER GUARD FOR SNOWMOBILES HISTORYSnowmobiles are conventionally constructed with at least one ski thatsupports the front end of the vehicle. This ski is mounted for pivotalmovement in a horizontal plane for steering. It is furthermore springmounted to absorb shocks and otherwise conform to the terrain. Whereasthe snowmobile is primarily used in sports it is most commonly used inrough terrain where hills and valleys are encountered continuously. Itwill be understood that when the front end of the ski drops down theback end is tipped up. Depending on the suddenness of the down slope andthe speed of the snowmobile this tipping up of the read end of the skiis severe enough to cause the back end or trailing end of the ski to hitthe bottom of the vehicle.

Snowmobiles have become extremely popular over the last years or so andpresently there are dozens of snowmobile manufacturers building andselling thousands of snowmobiles each year. In every snowmobile known toapplicant the occurrence of the objectionable hitting of the ski on thebottom of the vehicle body is common. Not only is the banging of the skiagainst the solid vehicle body noisy and uncomfortable to the riders, itis also damaging both to the vehicle body and the ski. Yet even thoughthis condition has been known for many years none of the snowmobilesknown to applicant have been designed to obviate this condition.

BRIEF HISTORY The present invention provides a novel yet simple andinexpensive solution to the problem. Briefly the preferred embodiment ofmy invention includes a guard that is mounted over the trailing end ofthe ski in a manner whereby no additional fasteners are required andwithout interferring with the normal operation of the ski and itsmounting. The invention and its advantages will be further understood byreference to the following detailed explanation and drawings wherein;

HO. 1 is a perspective view of a typical snowmobile utilizing thepresent invention; and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the section of the skis and supportingmeans with the bumper guard of the invention affixed thereto, a portionof which is broken away for purposes of illustration.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a typical snowmobile 10 includes abody 12 which houses a motor (not shown) for powering the drive systemrepresented by the endless track 14 at the rear end of the body 12. Aseat 16 with foot rest 17 supports a rider who maneuvers the vehicle bycontrolled turning of the handle bar 18. The handle bar is connectedthrough a linkage to a ski 20 that is mounted by leaf springs 22 to thebottom of the body 12.

The structure generally described above is a common type vehicle oftenreferred to as a snowmobile. However the illustrated snowmobile ischaracterized from the snowmobile commonly known to the industry byreason of the bumper guard 24 attached to the trailing end of the ski20.

Referring more specifically to FIG. 2 of the drawings, the bumper guardas will be noted is constructed from a U-shaped bracket 26. The legportions 28 of the bracket 26 have a straight bottom edge and tapperedtop edges. The bottom edge abuts the top surface of the ski 20. Theconnecting portion 30 connects the top edges of the leg portions andforms an inclined top plate 31. As shown the leaf spring 22 is connectedto the ski 20 by a pin 32 which is'inserted through ear portions 34 oneach side of the ski 20 and a crimped portion 36 formed in the end ofthe leaf spring 22.

With the U-shaped bracket flush on the ski 20, holes 38 on the legportion 28 are aligned with the pin 32. The pin 32 is thus pushedthrough the leg portions and properly fastened. The inclined top platethereby covers the interconnection assembly and extends backward over aportion of the leaf spring 22 but leaving sufficient clearance forproper operation of the leaf spring as shown. An elastomeric pad 40 ismolded to the top plate 30 n operation the U-shaped bracket andabsorbent pad are spaced above the pivotal connection of the spring andski and do not interfere with the normal running of the snowmobile. Alsothe U-shaped bracket is both simple in construction and easily attachedto the ski without altering in the slightest way any part of theoriginal structure (except where necessary to replace the original pin32 with a longer pin). Yet when the severe tipping of the ski occurs aspreviously described the pad 40 absorbs the full impact without noise,jarring or damage.

Persons skilled in the art will be able to conceive of numerousvariations of the above described embodiment which is presented hereinfor purposes of illustration only. The scope of the invention isdetermined by the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A snowmobile having a body, a drive system for driving the snowmobileand a steering mechanism comprising a ski, a leaf spring connected ateach end to the ski, and means for pivotally connecting the leaf springintermediate its ends to the body in a manner whereby at least one endof the spring and ski connected thereto is normally positioned under thebody and pivots about said pivotal connection against the body, theimprovement which comprises a bumper guard having support meansconnected to one of the ski and spring, a bumper pad, and said supportmeans being comprised of an inverted U-shaped bracket having a pair oflegs and a cross piece, a cushioning pad affixed to the cross piece, thelegs of the bracket straddling the spring, and a pin connecting the legsunder the spring and securing the bracket at the end of the springthereby supporting the bumper pad in a position over the connectionbetween the end of the spring and ski normally positioned under the bodyto absorb the impact of the spring and ski pivoted against the body.

2. A snowmobile as defined in claim 1 wherein the spring is connected tothe ski and the legs of the bracket are connected by a common connectingpin.

3. A snowmobile comprising; a body, a drive system, and a steeringmechanism, said steering mechanism including a ski, a leaf springconnected at each end to the ski, and means for pivotally connecting theleaf spring intermediate its ends to the body in a manner whereby atleast one end portion of the spring and ski connected thereto isnormally positioned under the body and pivots about said pivotalconnection against the body, the improvement which comprises a bumperguard to absorb the impact of the spring and ski pivoted against thebody, said bumper guard including an inverted U-shaped bracket, acushioning pad affixed to the top of the cross piece of the invertedU-shaped bracket, and fastening means fastening the legs of the invertedU-shaped bracket to one of the ski and spring to position the pad abovesaid end portion of the spring and ski connected thereto and normallypositioned under the body and pivoting thereagainst.

1. A snowmobile having a body, a drive system for driving the snowmobileand a steering mechanism comprising a ski, a leaf spring connected ateach end to the ski, and means for pivotally connecting the leaf springintermediate its ends to the body in a manner whereby at least one endof the spring and ski connected thereto is normally positioned under thebody and pivots about said pivotal connection against the body, theimprovement which comprises a bumper guard having support meansconnected to one of the ski and spring, a bumper pad, and said supportmeans being comprised of an inverted U-shaped bracket having a pair oflegs and a cross piece, a cushioning pad affixed to the cross piece, thelegs of the bracket straddling the spring, and a pin connecting the legsunder the spring and securing the bracket at the end of the springthereby supporting the bumper pad in a position over the connectionbetween the end of the spring and ski normally positioned under the bodyto absorb the impact of the spring and ski pivoted against the body. 2.A snowmobile as defined in claim 1 wherein the spring is connected tothe ski and the legs of the bracket are connected by a common connectingpin.
 3. A snowmobile comprising; a body, a drive system, and a steeringmechanism, said steering mechanism including a ski, a leaf springconnected at each end to the ski, and means for pivotally connecting theleaf spring intermediate its ends to the body in a manner whereby atleast one end portion of the spring and ski connected thereto isnormally positioned under the body and pivots about said pivotalconnection against the body, the improvement which comprises a bumperguard to absorb the impact of the spring and ski pivoted against thebody, said bumper guard including an inverted U-shaped bracket, acushioning pad affixed to the top of the cross piece of the invertedU-shaped bracket, and fastening means fastening the legs of the invertedU-shaped bracket to one of the ski and spring to position the pad abovesaid end portion of the spring and ski connected thereto and normallypositioned under the body and pivoting thereagainst.